Kyoto Wins 2nd-Straight National Women's Ekiden

The 40th National Women's Ekiden took place Jan. 16, starting and finishing at Kyoto's Takebishi Stadium and covering 42.195 km in 9 stages. The race having been canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 winner Kyoto took the top spot again in 2:15:05 to strengthen its position as the winningest team in event history with 18 national titles. Fukuoka scored 2nd, with Miyagi taking 3rd.

Following up on her superb 31:28 CR on the National Corporate Women's Ekiden's 10.0 km Fifth Stage in November, Shiseido corporate runner Rino Goshima put the Ishikawa prefecture team out front on the 6.0 km opening leg, beating members of the Tokyo Olympic team and finishing in 18:41, just 2 seconds behind the CR held by 5000 m NR holder Ririka Hironaka. Kyoto's Sakiho Tsutsui was only 9th, but over the next three stages the team worked its way toward the front of the field along with Fukuoka and Miyagi.

On the race's Eighth Stage, 3.0 km reserved for junior high school students, Kyoto's Yumi Yamada overtook Miyagi's Yuna Ito to put the hosts into the lead for the first time. Tokyo Olympics 10000 m team member Yuka Ando held that position on the 10.0 km anchor stage to break the tape in 1st.

On the 4.0 km Fourth Stage 18-year-old sensation Seira Fuwa from the Gunma team struck again, passing 13 people to go from 22nd to 9th and taking 3 seconds off Hironaka's CR with a new record of 12:29. Fukuoka's Michi Kawanishi also broke the course record on the Eighth Stage in 9:30.

Four-time Olympian Kayoko Fukushi, who will retire at the end of the month following the Osaka Half Marathon, ran her final ekiden as part of her hometown Aomori prefecture team. Her tenth time running the National Women's Ekiden, Fukushi ran the anchor stage in 34:03.

40th National Women's Ekiden

Kyoto, 16 Jan., 2022

47 teams, 9 stages, 42.195 km

complete results

Top Individual Stage Results

First Stage (6.0 km) - Rino Goshima (Ishikawa) - 18:41

Second Stage (4.0 km) - Azumi Nagira (Fukuoka) - 12:28

Third Stage (3.0 km) - Saki Okamoto (Fukuoka) - 9:25

Fourth Stage (4.0 km) - Seira Fuwa (Gunma) - 12:29 - CR

Fifth Stage (4.1075 km) - Aisha Dosei (Hyogo) - 12:57

Sixth Stage (4.0875 km) - Asuka Ishimatsu (Hyogo) - 12:52

Seventh Stage (4.0 km) - Aiko Hosoya (Kyoto) - 12:38

Eighth Stage (3.0 km) - Michi Kawanishi (Fukuoka) - 9:30 - CR

Ninth Stage (10.0 km) - Ririka Hironaka (Nagasaki) - 31:27

Top Team Results

1. Kyoto - 2:15:05

2. Fukuoka - 2:15:25

3. Miyagi - 2:15:42

4. Hyogo - 2:16:13

5. Nagasaki - 2:17:08

6. Osaka - 2:17:10

7. Aichi - 2:17:32

8. Fukushima - 2:17:58

9. Kanagawa - 2:18:05

10. Nagano - 2:18:21

source article:

https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASQ1J4VPKQ1JPTQP008.html

translated by Brett Larner

10000 m National Championships Preview

Less than five months since the 2023 10000 m National Championships went down at the 2021 Olympic stadium in Tokyo, the 2024 edition happens Friday at Shizuoka's Ecopa Stadium, with NHK broadcasting it live starting at 19:25 local time. Doubling up on Nationals like this lets Japanese athletes double dip on placing points to try to get into the Paris Olympics on rankings. But between the number of people who've hit the 30:40.00 women's standard and 27:00.00 men's standard and the lopsided eight spots given away to top placers at World XC, there are only four women's spots and three men's available via rankings. Of those, three of the four women's spots and two of the three men's spots are currently occupied by top placers at December's 2023 Nationals, Ririka Hironaka , Haruka Kokai and Rino Goshima for women and Ren Tazawa and Tomoki Ota for men. The 2023 Nationals did get close to the standards, with Hironaka leading the top four women under

Goshima and Kasai Win 10000 m National Titles, Maeda Breaks U20 Asian Record

Rino Goshima and Jun Kasai stepped up with PBs to win the 2024 National Championships 10000 m titles Friday at Shizuoka's Ecopa Stadium. In the women's race, Goshima, 4th in last December's 2023 National Championships 10000 m, went out front from the start with Kenyan teammate Judy Jepngetich pacing and 2023 3rd-placer Haruka Kokai in tow. Things were never on track to hit the 30:40.00 Paris Olympics standard, but except for a brief dip to 3:08 at 7000 m Goshima held steady at 3:05 to 3:06/km even as Kokai and Jepngetich fell off. With blood dripping from her left knee after getting spiked by Jepngetich, Goshima closed in 3:03 to take 5 seconds off her best from December's Nationals and win in 30:53.31, moving up to all-time Japanese #6. Jepngetich also PBd at 31:09.42 without counting in the standings, with Kokai 2nd in 31:10.53 and Kazuna Kanetomo 3rd in a PB 31:59.29. The runner-up last time, Yuka Takashima was last in 33:33.27. The men's race went out in a

Weekend Track and Road Roundup

The Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon aside, a quick roundup of results from this past weekend: At the Nittai University Time Trials , aka the Nittaidai Challenge Games, Shadrack Kipkemei (Nihon Univ.) led a great men's 10000 m A-heat in 27:20.05, with the top six men all going under 27:28. James Mutuku (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) was the only other collegiate runner among them at 3rd in 27:23.09, with 2:06 marathoner Hidekazu Hijikata (Asahi Kasei) the top Japanese finisher at 8th in 28:23.27. Mutuku's YGU teammate Brian Kipyegon won the 5000 m A-heat in 13:30.88, James Karuri (Aomori Yamada H.S.) next in 13:33.67 and Kaisei Okada (Chuo Univ.) 3rd in 13:48.44. Soya Katayama (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) had the fastest 1500 m with a 3:46.19 to win the A-heat. In the women's races at Nittai, Tabitha Njeri Kamau (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) was the only one to clear 16 minutes in the 5000 m A-heat, running 15:27.12 for the win. Lucy Nduta (Aomori Yamada H.S.) was likewise the only one u

japan running news

Search This Blog